The Oakland Mill

Posted on by Thor

Jenni Schwartz and Roger Wood held a second baby shower in Maquoketa, Iowa, which is Jenni’s home town. Lacey McDevitt and Nick Szebeni own the historic Oakland Mill (22095 IA-64, Maquoketa, IA 52060). Lacey is an old friend of Jenni’s and offered the mill as a venue. The theme of this shower was woodland creatures and Lacey, and another friend Season, did an amazing job of decorating. Photos of cute baby critters were hung on the wall near the food serving table. Centerpieces were elegantly appointed. A large horse-drawn hoe hung from the ceiling.

The historic building, originally known as Oakland Mill, was built by Joseph Willey in 1867. The 2½-story stone building has a
partial basement and is capped with a gable roof. A water-powered
turbine, still extant, supplied the power to operate the mill. The
location of the mill race can still be seen on the east side of the
property, and remnants of the damn remain in Prairie Creek. None of
the mill workings remain on the inside. Willey sold the mill to Seneca
Williams in 1867, and he operated in until 1904. The building was
converted into a barn in 1920. The building was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 1976. Wildlife artist Patrick J. Costello used the old mill as a residence and studio from 1979 to 2006.
Today it is operated as a reception
hall. I wish I had seen the place when it was an artist’s studio.

I fell in love with the site. From several outdoor balconies you can watch the creek as it flows gently by. The large wheel no longer turns because the owners are not allowed to build a small dam to divert some of the river’s flow.  The back yard has a nice paved path with a fire pit at the end of it a quiet gazebo. This baby shower never moved outside however.

This event was quite a bit larger than the party in Des Moines, Iowa. Food consisted of several large casseroles and cinnamon rolls. Bright blue cupcakes were arranged in the shape of a baby carriage. They had some kind of jelly center and were delicious. Though sketching, I ate more than I needed to. The couple opened presents in front of the “Oh Baby” banner. Between the two showers, the couples surely have more than they need to start their newborn’s life in this world.

A Book of Baby Names

Posted on by Thor

The dining room table is the heart of the Schwartz family home in Iowa. Jenni Schwartz is expecting a baby boy this October and her sister-in-law, Kim, revived a silly book Pam and Jenni had given her when she was pregnant with her first child. They painstakingly went through every page of the book and wrote in new names, made jokes in the margins, and illustrated some names.

She, Pam and Kim poured through the book looking for possible names for baby wood. They all laughed hysterically at the ridiculous jokes and suggestions. Jenni laughed to the point of tears and complained it isn’t so easy to keep from peeing a little when you’re pregnant. I can confirm that the baby boy’s is not likely to be names Aapo, Aaro, or Abasi. I don’t think they got past the A section of the book.

Before this sketch was complete the table was cleared or another family meal and then a round of games. I did not try my hand at Canasta this time around, instead relaxed, finishing this sketch with color.

Iowa Baby Shower

Posted on by Thor

Pam’s sister, Jenni Schwartz and Roger Wood, are having a baby and we traveled to Iowa for several baby showers. Jenni lives in Des Moines, Iowa and that shower was held at the Raccoon River Nature Lodge. I was on task to help set up. Pam ordered several dozen tiny wicker baskets which were intended to hold thank you presents for this hot air balloon themed party. She ordered them online and had the boxes shipped to Jenni’s home. The baskets turned out to be VERY tiny only able to hold one candy. In desperation, she made a run to a party store which was going out of business. A few items were on the shelves but many items were scattered on the floor. It was a post apocalyptic scene.She did find some silk gift bags which fit three pieces of ganache and truffles, as opposed to the one that could be held by a basket. She wanted to leave the baskets behind to be returned, but I insisted they were a much needed decoration item.

The lodge had a gorgeous view overlooking a lake to the south. Floor to ceiling windows made the view amazing. We were responsible for all the set up and break down for the event. We rolled out 5 round tables and covered them with white plastic table cloths. Center pieces were rectangular blue place mats with a bowl of caramel/cheese popcorn and the candy bags scattered about. I discovered that the baskets were just big enough to hold 1 Starburst candy, so I raided all the candy to just find the Starbursts.

My main job was to build the balloon arch. I blew up most of the balloons. Jenni blew up the golden balloons since they were easiest to blow up. When they were inflated, golden confetti inside would blow around like they were in a tornado. All the other balloons were blue or white. That is a clue that baby Wood would be a boy. There was one very big blue balloon in the bag, so I tied a basket under it to make it onto a hot air balloon.

Pam designed cute cards with a fox and rabbit riding in a hot air balloon. She brought a stuffed red fox which sat on the serving tables and a metal basket containing baby diapers had balloons attached to it to make it resemble a hot air balloon. We also had paper hot air balloon decorations with a cloud and star hanging below each. I taped them to the blinds on each floor to ceiling window and they were raised or lowered based on how high or low the blinds were raised. The balloons didn’t have baskets, so I placed a basket on the window sill ledge below each making it seem like the balloons had launched without their baskets.

The cake was beautifully decorated reproducing Pam’s fox  hot air balloon cartoon. However the cake imploded when we were transporting it. It had a creamy salted caramel filling which caused the layers to slip like tectonic plates. By the end of the evening the cake had slipped and twisted making it look like a California earthquake had hit. It was still incredible delicious….when eaten with a spoon.

About 35 people RSVP’d to the party, but only 15 or so arrived on this Friday night. When they arrived they were invited to put a fingerprint on a hot air balloon image with the fox and rabbit, and sign it, for it to later hang on the nursery walls. The diapers were to be inscribed with messages so the mother could have a giggle when she had to change them in the middle of the night. I drew a poop emoji and signed it. Some of Jenni’s co-workers were giggling and writing on diapers for most of the party.